do this for levi

2008 Amgen Tour of California came through our town today- yep, good ole’ Santa Rosa. I was there last year at the finish line- the Symphony offices were right next to the finish line. This year, I got President’s Day off since I’m no longer with SRS… anyway, feeling a bit under the weather so slept in from my 2 benadryl tablets last night and got up late. Hubby went to work, and we watched the race for the last hour or so. It was cool. Levi Leipheimer didn’t win the stage from Saulsilito to Santa Rosa, but, they gave him some face time. Which, led us to this website . What is it?

LetLeviRide.com is a site where you can sign a petition to be sent directly to Christian Prudhomme, Director of the ASO, as well as to VS, the official US media partner of the Tour de France.

Why? Here’s some background for those of us that aren’t totally familiar with professional cycling. The ASO (Amaury Sports Organization- owns premiere cycling events like Paris-Nice, Paris-Roubaix, Paris-Tours, and the famed Tour de France) cited the doping scandals of last year’s Tour de France as justification to ban Levi’s team- sponsored by Astana. But, Levi wasn’t a member of last year’s Astana team, nor has he EVER been in trouble for doping.

“That the happenings of last year…prompted the Tour organizers to leave Astana out of the season’s most important race sounds understandable,” notes new Astana General Manager, Johan Bruyneel. “However, Astana Cycling Team 2008 has nothing to do with the team of last year. We have done everything to change the dynamics of the team. New management, new riders, new philosophy. Only the name of the sponsor remained.”

Totally unfair as an athlete. What do you think?

If you agree, sign the petition. I signed it- #13,394 early this evening, and already its up to 15k+. Their goal is 100,000. Think people can make it happen?? Spread the word if you support this.